1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to revolvers and other firearms and, in particular, to an improved hammer and trigger bar design to avoid under certain conditions unintended discharge of the firearms due to careless or improper handling.
2. Prior Art
Numerous arrangements have been proposed for preventing under certain conditions unintended discharge of firearms due to careless or improper handling. To avoid direct contact of the hammer and firing pin while the firearm is being carried, loaded, or under other conditions where discharge is not intended, many mechanisms and designs have been proposed over the years. For example, pivotable trigger bars have been suggested and used as shown in the present assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,384 issued to Ruger et al in 1973 and slidable transfer bars have been shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,157,958 to Lewis issued November 1964 and German Pat. No. 1,917,716 dated October 1970.
Another technique for avoiding, under certain conditions of operation, the transmission of force from the hammer to the firing pin is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 624,321 issued to Fyrberg in 1899 in which a firing pin assembly is pivotably mounted to avoid being struck by the hammer in selected positions.
These prior patents provide a background of development of the art from before 1900 through Ruger's contribution as patented in 1973. However, the mechanisms described above were designed to be incorporated into new firearm designs and it has therefore been hitherto considered impossible to incorporate the trigger bar or transfer bar mechanism into existing single action revolvers due to available space restrictions.